Gunstock



'(No Model.)

P. LONG.

'GUNSTOGK. No. 429,631. Patented June IO, 1890.

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. UNITED STATES PATENT ()EEICE.

PETER LONG, OF TURNERS, NElV YORK.

GUNSTOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 429,631, dated June 10, 1890.

Application filed March 13, 1890.

To all whom, it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, PETER LONG, acitizen of the United States, residing at Turners, in the county of Orange and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gunstocks, of which the-following is a specification.

My invent-ion relates to gunstocks; and it consists in providing the same with an attachment at the butt, adapted to be drawn out or moved to such position as to extend or prolong the bearing-surface of the butt, and to be moved back into such position as shall leave the butt in practically its ordinary condition.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a perspective view, and Fig. 2 a sectional view, of a gunstock embodying my improvements in their preferred form; Fig. 3, an end view, of the stock with the buttplate removed. Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 illustrate modifications of the invention which may be adopted in lieu of the form shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

It is well known to sportsmen and others familiar with the use of fire-arms that a stock having a butt provided with a deep seat or a. rig for the shoulder, and particularly one which has the lower end of the butt extended downward and backward to a considerable distance so as to secure a firm hold beneath the arm, is highly advantageous in securing accuracy in shooting, the support due to this extension or to the firm hold which the stock in consequence secures upon the shoulder of the marksman enabling him to hold the gun with great steadiness and to throw a large port-ion of the weight upon the shoulder against which the body of the stock rests. To secure the benefit of such asupport it has long been common to make target-rifles with a butt-plate having the upper and lower points extended well backward; but under existing conditions of target-shooting, where various positions are assumed by the marksman, the presence of the backwardly-extending point or end is found at times to be not only inconvenient or undesirable, but absolutely impracticable. This is notably the case when shooting in a reclining position, because the elongated point of the butt-plate in such case, bearing directly beneath the Serial No. 343,688. (No model.)

arm and driven back by the heavy recoil due to the large charges employed in long-distance shooting, is liable to inflict serious injury upon the marksman.

My invention is designed to enable the marksman to avail himself of the benefit of the backwardly extending bearing when needed, and to avoid the injurious effects thereof when shooting in a position where such elongated bearing would be undesirable or inconvenient.

To this endI adopt the construction shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- A indicates the stock of a gun, B the buttplate, and O a slide adapted to be moved longitudinally from the position indicated by full lines in Figs. 2 and 3 to that indicated by full lines in Fig. 1 and by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The slide C will preferably be made as a segment of a circle, and arranged to bear on its face either against the butt-plate, or in case said plate is not itself curved on the arc of a circle, the slide may bear against the rear end of the stock Aproper, as indicatedin Fig. 2, the stock in such case beingcurved to conform closely to the curvature of the slide. The slide 0 in this form is provided with a longitudinal slot a, through which passes a screw b, carrying a friction-spring c, which, bearing against the outer face of the slide 0, holds its inner face in close contact with the rear end of the stock A, and produces sufficient friction to hold the slide at whatever adjustment may be given it. The slot at also permits the passage of the fastening-screw of I the butt-plate to the wood of the stock A. Then it is not desired to use the slide 0 or to prolong the bearing-face of the butt, the slide 0 is pushed up into the position represented in Figs. 2 and 3,'where it is held by the friction-spring just mentioned; but when it is desired to prolong the bearing-surface and secure the benefit of the slide C, said slide is drawn out to the position indicated in Fig. 1

and by dotted lines in Fig 2, the end of the slide being formed with a rib or knob to facilitate its being drawn out.

In Figs. 4: and 5 I have represented the I slide 0 as of dovetail form in cross-section,

and arranged to slide in a groove or seat of like form in the butt-plate. This groove may IOC be either in the inner or outer face of the butt-plate, as preferred. A stop-screw d will under this construction be carried through the slide 0 and through a groove ein thebuttplate, as indicated in Figs. I and 5.

In Figs. 6 and 7 I have represented a slide 0 extending entirely across the butt-plate, and forming in effect a supplemental buttplate, but provided with a dovetailed rib f, which is seated and moves in a groove g of corresponding form in the butt-plate proper B, a stop-screw 61 being in this case arranged to pass through the slide 0 and into a groove or slot in the butt-plate B, as in the previous form.

In Fig. 8 I have represented two slides O one arranged upon the upper edge and the other upon the lower edge of the stock, and arranged to be projected rearwardly, so as to extend under and over the shoulder of the marksman, or to the positions indicated by dotted lines in said figure. This I consider the inferior equivalent of the constructions above set forth.

It is manifest that the invention is susceptible of modification as to its details beyond what is here illustrated, the invention consisting, broadly, in combining with a gunstock a slide or extension device adapted to be drawn out so as to prolong the shoulder-bearing surface of the stock, and this I mean to claim regardless of the minor details of construction.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In combination with a gunstock, an ex tension-piece applied to the butt-end of the stool; and adapted to be adjusted to a position to prolongthe shoulder-bearin g or thrown back to leave the bearing in its normal condition.

2. In combination with the shoulder or butt stock A of a gun, extension-piece 0, applied to the rear end of said stock and movable transversely to the length thereof, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

3. In combination with stock A, slotted slide 0, and friction-spring 0, adapted to bear upon the slide and hold it in its adjusted position.

4. In combination with a stock A, provided with a bearing-face curved on the arc of a circle, an extension-piece or slide (1, applied to the stock and seated upon said curved bearing-face, substantially as shown.

In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

PETER LONG. \Vitnesses:

EUGENE B. HoLLENBEoK, SANFORD A. CORTRIGH'I. 

